Ad Novum Ludum: Queen of Peace
by Givethemtriumphnow
Summary: A New Game , but for everyone else. "I'm sorry," Noctis said again, smiling at them with tears in his eyes, "You guys are the best. I love you." Before any of them could react, Noctis was falling


_**Oh, the King,**_

 _ **Gone mad within his suffering**_

 _ **Called out for relief**_

 _ **Someone cure him of his grief**_

 _ **His own son**_

 _ **Cut down but the battle won,**_

 _ **Oh, what is it worth,**_

 _ **When all that's left is hurt?**_

"Ready? Steady? PUSH!" Gladio called out from the back of the Regalia, and Prompto grit his teeth against the heat as he started to push his weight against the car-

"I'm sorry." A voice said, out of the blue.

Huh?

Prompto stopped pushing, and swiveled his head around to look at his friend, Noct, who was suddenly swaying on his feet.

"I'm sorry," Noctis said again, smiling at them with tears in his eyes, "You guys are the best. I love you."

Before any of them could react, Noctis was falling, and then he hit the ground, and then there was an instant of confused, shocked silence and then-

"Noct!" Prompto and the others shouted at the same time, Gladio charging around the car, Prompto diving over the hood, and Ignis leaping out over the driver's door so he wouldn't hit Noct who was lying on the road, pale and quiet.

Ignis caught his foot trying to jump out of the car and ended up landing on his hands and knees next to Noct, smearing blood on the road, but the Advisor was unfazed by the tumble and was immediately checking Noctis' pulse.

The blood drained out of Ignis' face so quick Prompto was terrified he was about to collapse like Noct had. Because that's all this was, this was just, like, heat stroke or something, or dehydration, or-!

"Gladio, his heart has stopped! He's not breathing! We must start CPR! Prompto, call Cor, NOW!"

What? Oh, no,no,no,no,nononono NO!

Ignis had started doing compressions, counting under his breath before leaning in and breathing into Noct, and oh _gods_ WHERE WAS HIS PHONE?

Spotting it hooked up to the Regalia's speakers, Prompto dove headfirst into the car, snatching up his phone with fumbling fingers and thanking every Astral there was that he had Cor on speed dial for emergencies.

He's barely clicked on Cor's contact when the world started to shake.

" _NO!"_ An anguished shout sounded outside, and Prompto struggled to see as the car around him rattled and shook.

Grey pillars were rising around them as Ignis continued to scream his denials, and Prompto barely caught a glimpse of Ignis, clutching a pale Noctis to him, trying to drag his body away-

But before Prompto's eyes, Noctis was consumed by the grey stone.

Starting at his feet, silver rock rose straight from the asphalt and began to encase Noctis's legs in cold slab, focing Ignis to let him go as more of the same stone rose beneath their feet, shaking them to the ground and sending the alarms on the Regalia blaring as Prompto trembled, completely overwhelmed by the chaos.

Ignis sprang towards Noctis's body again as it was pushed into the air, a table-like pedestal rising underneath him as the cold grey began to swallow his form, turning his skin anonymous grey, transforming his visage into a stranger-

"Ignis, no! We're too late!" Gladio swept Ignis bodily out of the air, pinning him to the side of the Regalia as the stone finished _eating_ Noct, until he was encased entirely in the grey marble turning him into a statue- except it didn't even look like him!

"No! It's not true! I- I can still save him!" Ignis cried, clawing at Gladio's arms, trying to get to Noct's statue, which was still rising into the air, an intricate pedestal finishing forming as even more grey stone began to rise on the very edges of the massive platform that had formed beneath them and the Regalia.

"No! Ignis, _he's gone!"_ Gladio shouted, voice choked in rage and grief as one of his massive arms suddenly swept Ignis off of his feet, catching Ignis off guard as he was roughly tossed over Gladio's shoulder. "We will be too if we don't get out of here, NOW!"

Before Prompto could react, Gladio had reached out and roughly grabbed the back of Prompto's jacket, hauling him out of the blaring Regalia as Ignis kicked and screamed, tears coursing down his face.

"Wh-What's going on? What's wrong with Noct? WHAT'S GOING ON?" Prompto shouted, his voice finding its way back in a thunder of noise he couldn't control.

"NOT NOW!" Gladio roared, faced twisted in rage and despair as he shoved Prompto forward, stumbling towards the waist-height walls that were rapidly growing at the edges of the grey platform, "MOVE IT! WE NEED TO GET BACK ON THE ROAD, _NOW_! OR WE'RE _ALL_ DEAD!"

"WHAT?!"

" _MOVE!_ " Gladio had apparently gotten sick of Prompto's slow-moving confusion, because the next second, Prompto was gasping for air as he was picked up by the back of his jacket and _tossed_ over the wall that was now shoulder-height.

Crying out as he impacted the hot pavement, Prompto tumbled gracelessly, banging his elbow and scraping the skin off of his palms and knees as he came to a rolling stop. Twisting frantically, he looked around just in time to see Ignis come flying over the wall as well, with Gladio vaulting himself over the top after throwing his friend.

Instead of screaming at Gladio like Prompto expected, Ignis was quiet, almost silent as he buried his face in his hands, shoulders shaking, defeat written in his entire form.

Gladio fumbled his landing, and fell to his hands and knees, remaining there.

There was a resounding _boom,_ like thunder, as the stone sealed itself behind them, a sense of finality hanging in the air.

Prompto lay where he had been thrown, and just stared.

A massive sepulchre had grown directly in the middle of the road, extending past the border of the asphalt, rising up high in a rounded point, that sprouted decorative hooks even as he watched. The shape of the structure began to change, growing outwards on the sides, while the front sunk inwards, sprouting a plain, arched door as the entire thing began to _sink into the ground._

Stairs began to carve themselves out of the road as the center of the building sunk down, and a robed figure began to take shape above the door, holding a dark sword pointed down. There was a few seconds of the sound of grinding and groaning of stone, and then, silence.

The Royal Tomb was complete.

" _ **AAARRRGH!"**_ Gladio roared, slamming both of his fists into the road- the magically-stressed pavement shattered beneath his hands.

"He's… gone…" Ignis whispered in a broken voice.

"What?" Prompto whispered back, struggling to comprehend what had just happened. One minute everything was… was fine. And then Noct… he just…

"He's dead… he's really truly dead…" Ignis continued, apparently unable to hear Prompto, or just ignoring him. Suddenly Ignis stiffened, and leapt to his feet. "The Plaque!" He cried, stumbling forward, "Where is it? What does it say!?"

A plaque? Like a sign? Prompto numbly forced himself to his feet, following Ignis's lead as he began frantically searching along the stairs.

Gladio stayed kneeling on the road, head bowed as if in supplication.

It took a minute of searching, but they finally found the carved words, delicately etched into the ledge beneath the winged figure of the Messenger, cast into shade by the angle of the sun.

" _Here lies Noctis Lucis Caelum CXIV, The Chosen King of Light, who completed the Prophecy in the Year of The Dawn, 766…"_ Prompto hesitated, voice choking as the nonsensical sentence confused him, it was only 756, this didn't make any sense, _none of this made sense_ , but Ignis, voice now icy cold and devoid of emotion, continued to read it aloud for him:

"A _nd when brought to His Past to relive His Pilgrimage, The King of Light made the Choice, to take His Last Breath and bring The Accursed with Him, to save the Star its ten-year Suffering._ "

Ignis sucked in a ragged breath, backing away from the tomb. "This is…. Above our stations. We must call the King."

Prompto swallowed past the lump in his throat. "My phone… it was in the Regalia."

The two of them looked at the sealed Tomb, which had the car locked away inside, unreachable.

"We'll… we'll have to continue. Our walk, to Hammerhead that is. Master Cid will have a phone and...maybe he can be of some solace to the King…"

Ignis's voice sounded dead.

Dead, like Noct so suddenly was.

 _Noct's dead._

 _Dead….?_

 _...Dead?!_

The grief hit Prompto suddenly, his confusion washed away in a tidal wave of despair. His knees shook and gave out and he collapsed, falling to his knees like Gladio had, but it was not a roar of rage that left him, it was a keen of despair, of _why why why,_

Why had everything gone so wrong, so quick?

Why had the gods taken Noct from them?

Why…

Why, if the inscription was correct, had Noct, his best, chosen to die instead of living again at their sides?

Why wasn't Prompto enough for Noct to live for?

Why wasn't Prompto good enough?

 _Why?_

He hadn't heard Gladio move, but suddenly, a heavy arm was draped over his shoulders, bringing him close and pulling him into a tight, bone-crushing hug. He curled into the embrace, hiding his face from the sun, and cried his heart out, feeling Ignis falling down next to them, until they were three twenty-somethings huddled in the middle of the road, grieving and in shock.

None of them wanted to abandon Noct in the middle of the road, even in death.

It wasn't until the sun was nearing the horizon that a large tow truck approached them from the direction of Hammerhead, having finally gone looking for the wayward Prince.

Pale and shaking, Prompto listlessly looked up to see an older gentleman stumble out of the truck, falling to his knees a few feet from the Tomb. There was a horrified recognition in the man's eyes, but Prompto couldn't stand to see any more grief today.

Turning away from the stranger as a woman rushed to the older man's side, Prompto retreated into the covering of his jacket and closed his eyes to the world.


End file.
